


The Megami Nakami Show

by MegKF



Category: Skip Beat!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-29
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-21 07:13:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1542146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegKF/pseuds/MegKF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when Kyoko and Sho end up together on the same talk show?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Megami Nakami Show

**Author's Note:**

> Skip Beat! is by Yoshiki Nakamura and is licensed in the United States by Viz. I encourage everyone to purchase the manga. I think of fanfiction as free advertisement. There are many things I've bought because I enjoyed fanfiction that crossed into a new fandom.
> 
> This is based off my other fanfic- 2 Minute Interviews, which is mainly the characters sharing spoilers from the show, but is not connected to it at all except I'm using the same original character as the interviewer. This is more drawn out, sharing the thought processes of both Kyoko and Sho as they're both interviewed at the same time and place. This fanfic has spoilers through volume 17.

**Part 1**

Kyoko had been so excited. She'd been invited to be a guest on a prime time talk show. She'd even talked Moko into doing her makeup for her. Moko had even helped her pick out what to wear to the show. If only everything had continued to go so smoothly… Kyoko had been upset when she arrived at the studio earlier that morning and discovered that the main guest on the show was Sho Fuwa. That slime-ball. And here they are now, about to share the stage again.

"Welcome all to The Megami Nakami Show. We have with us today Sho Fuwa!" This announcement was followed by crazy screaming from the studio audience as Sho Fuwa entered the stage from the left and shook Megami's hand before taking a seat on the guest couch close to her. "Here to talk about his new single and his upcoming album. Also with us today is Kyoko who played one of the angels in Sho Fuwa's PV Prisoner and will be appearing this spring in Dark Moon, a show that's promising to be one of the best shows of the season."

Sho was surprised; he hadn't known that the other guest to help make the show longer was going to be Kyoko. _She can't freak out; if she freaks out like she did when we were filming the video I might look bad. I have to remain calm, no matter what she does I can make myself look good, I know I can do this. Smile Sho, that smile that makes girls melt._ Sho smiled and the screams in the audience hit new heights as a couple of girls actually fainted.

Kyoko entered the stage from the right to polite applause, shook Megami's hand and sat down on the guest couch next to Sho, but as far away from him as she could be without making herself look as uncomfortable as she felt in that moment. _I need to hype Dark Moon as well as I can. I know I'm just the secondary guest. Sho is the main guest. I'm too new to the media to be anymore than just extra on this show. The people backstage made it clear that I'm here to help fill in any silence that might happen. It's not that different from the Bridge Rock Show, only I get to sit and talk... And I'm not wearing a bird suit. I just need to ignore Sho as much as I can without anyone noticing I'm avoiding him. I could never get away with what I did when he was on the Bridge Rock Show._

Megami got the ball rolling, so to speak, "Fuwa-san, you've been making successful music for over a year. You're hit songs include: With Love; Doki Doki; Release; Prisoner and Asatte. Your newest single Asatte was released later than expected, many fans were afraid something had happened to delay its release."

Sho Fuwa smile widened, the fans couldn't tell it was strained, although Kyoko could easily tell. _It's not like I can tell anyone that Vie Ghoul stole my intended single and I had to come up with a new one that they'd never get away with stealing._ "I was having trouble being inspired to make music. I had some seriously bad writers block. But I was able to overcome it to write Asatte. The feedback I've received from both critics and fans has been heartwarming. I've since finished writing and recording all the songs for my upcoming album." _And I certainly can't say it was Kyoko getting so furious with me that inspired me. Besides Kyoko is mine, it's her job to help me._

Megami smiled as she hid the fact that Sho's smile had affected her, making her heart beat faster. "Kyoko-san! You got to appear in Fuwa-san's PV Prisoner. There are rumors that it might be nominated for the MTV Japan Music Award for best PV. How do you feel about that?"

_I hadn't heard that! How do I respond!? Must remain calm, can't let the grudge-Kyoko's out. God he's smiling that stupid smile of his, I don't care if it is strained, if that means he's as uncomfortable sitting next to me in front of all these camera's as I am. I won't show how I'm feeling about right now. What do I say!? He can so tell I'm uncomfortable. Gotta say something soon or there will be a long pause and people might get uncomfortable, should throw something in about Dark Moon. Right, that's what I'll say._ "I hadn't heard that it was being considered for being nominated for an award. That's an incredible honor. Prisoner was very hard for me as it was only the second time I had appeared in front of cameras. I had to ask my best friend Kanae Kotonami for advice on understanding the motivation of my character. It actually took me imagining her as the other angel for me to act exactly how they wanted. I'm so happy that I got to appear in the PV. It was actually thanks to it that I got cast in Dark Moon. Director Ogata got to see the video before it was released and admired my performance enough to cast me as Mio Hongo. I believed he said that I had an aura more evil than the devil, and darker than the night. Truthfully, it bothered me a bit, actually a lot, that that was what he liked about my acting. It's flattering though that he felt so strongly that I was the only one who could play her." _Good… I managed to hype the show and not say any of the bad stuff I'm thinking about Sho._

"That was very lucky for you," Megami says. Kyoko nods while smiling softly, a tad embarrassed now that she had said so much about herself. "We'll be taking a short break and when we return Fuwa-san will perform Prisoner for us."

**Intermission 1**

Sho sat on a chair in the back while waiting to go back on stage to sing. Kyoko is sitting nearby in Sho's dressing room. _Why do I have to sit here during the break? 'We're sorry miss, all the dressing rooms are being used by other shows.' I'm just not well known enough to warrant my own dressing room yet. 'We don't want people on set during the break or backstage where they might get in the way.' I wouldn't mind being told to be out of the way, if only out of the way wasn't Sho's dressing room. Now I have to sit here with Sho. At least Shoko, his manager, is here to act as a buffer._ Kyoko sat there with several of her grudge-Kyoko's flying around her head glaring at Sho.

Sho interrupts Kyoko's thoughts by speaking, "So my PV is how you got your big break job with Ren Tsuruga? So it is, in fact, thanks to me that you're making your way into showbiz. HAH! That's rich! You'll never be better than me if you have to rely on me to get a job."

At this Kyoko glares at Sho. _He must have told his manager more than I thought about what's going on between us if he's willing to talk about it in front of her. She's really nice, after the way we met I wouldn't have thought she and I would get along. But if she knows what's going on I don't have to hold back in here._ "It isn't thanks to you that I got the job. In fact I got the job for your PV because of the Curara commercial, which I won on my own merit. You didn't even recognize me when I got on set for Prisoner. The only reason you even suspected that it was me was my name." Kyoko saw the surprised look on his face.

_How did she know that's the only reason I thought it might be her?_

"Shoko told me."

_How does she always know what I'm thinking? And why did Shoko tell her? Why did I even tell Shoko?_

"We were constant companions as children until we were 15. Almost ten years we were together all the time and you didn't recognize me because I changed my hair!? How sad is that?"

"It wasn't just your hair! You changed your attitude too!" Sho stepped down off his stool. "Suddenly you weren't the same cheerful girl I knew. You're all dark with sudden mood swings. You are like a different person!"

"You don't get it do you? The girl you knew wasn't me; she was who you wanted her to be. I spent my life doing everything in my power to make you and your parents happy. Because we were friends, at least I had thought so then. And to thank you parents for taking care of me. Thanks to that I'm like a blank canvas. It's what is going to make me a great actress."

"HAH! That will never happen."

Kyoko paused for a moment and moved close to Sho and said quietly into his ear, so that Shoko wouldn't over hear, "Tsuruga-san doesn't seem to agree with you. He encourages me. He gives me advice and even asks me to help him rehearse; he's never asked anyone else to do that." And then, just because Kyoko knew it would annoy him, "I've even been to his apartment." _No way am I telling anyone that I've slept or bathed there, even if nothing inappropriate happened between us… Unless you count that time when we were rehearsing… Actually that is very unusual for Tsuruga-san. Maybe he really does want me to succeed, he did give me advice I could use to help me in the Curara audition, and that was back when he hated me. He's always giving me advice when I need it. He trusted me to help him when he was having trouble with his character in Dark Moon. He really doesn't hate me. I think he doesn't even dislike me much anymore. Maybe… Maybe… I'm becoming just as important to him as he is to me…_

Kyoko was so lost in her thoughts that she missed the shocked and angry look on Sho's face, although Shoko saw it and wondered what exactly Kyoko had said to Sho to make him so upset. There was a knock on the door letting them know it was time to get back on set. Shoko reached over and grabbed Sho's hand and started to lead him towards that stage set. "Sho, right now, forget whatever she said and perform, we don't want to upset any of your fans. You gotta go on stage and rock it."

**Part 2**

The applause and screams were so loud Kyoko was sure she would be deaf when they stopped. _Sho's performance wasn't that good. I can't believe I told him all the stuff during the break. I shouldn't take advantage of how much he hates Tsuruga-san. It could cause trouble for Tsuruga-san. I won't mention him again unless it comes up in conversation during the interview. Most of these questions should be directed towards Sho anyway. I shouldn't have to do much talking._

As Sho walked offstage and sat back down on the couch next to Kyoko he began to think. _What can I do to annoy Kyoko that won't cost me any fans? I want her to suffer for trying to hurt me. She shouldn't have the power to hurt me. She knows how much I hate him. I know that was her in that chicken suit on the bridge rock show. She knew all sorts of stuff that could have hurt my career. Well that goes both ways Kyoko. Now what do I know about you that could make you look bad and maybe even make me look better, as if that was possible. I always looked perfect._

"That was wonderful!" Megami exclaimed while she clapped along with the audience. Kyoko clapped politely so as not to stand out. "There have been some fans who enjoy your PV's so much they've been wondering if you're going to consider acting too."

"Oh! I'm flattered," Sho said with a smile. "I don't consider myself an actor, at least not yet. I have been approached about possibly appearing on some shows and even staring in films. I still have a lot to learn before I can do that. Plus I'd miss being able to devote myself to my music. There is nothing like appearing on stage and sharing my music with people who want to hear it." _There, a good solid answer and I think I see some girls in the audience fainting. I can definitely hear them sighing dreamily, so many of them did it at once. Heh. Oh, Kyoko used to do that. That's what I'll do._ "Kyoko… san, what you think? "

Kyoko let out a nervous giggle as her grudge Kyoko's sensed the hate waves coming off the girls in the audience. His fans did not like how informal he almost was addressing her. "Fuwa-san! You'll give the girls the wrong idea. You see, the two of us are actually childhood friends, although we have rarely seen each other since he made his debut. Until he made his debut I had attended every single one of his concerts. So I can actually tell you how much he has improved over the last several years. His early concerts compared to his performance just now are almost like night and day. He's always been good though. In fact, he's the one who inspired me to pursue acting. Although it was actually Tsuruga-san that made me decide to go at it full throttle. I had had the honor of seeing him while he was shooting Today's Target with Ruriko Matsunai. They even allowed me to demonstrate a couple of the scenes since I know the traditional arts. It was getting the chance to act with Tsuruga-san that made me realize how serious I feel about acting." _Do not even think about asking me any more questions like that Sho, I'll make you regret it. I know a great deal about you that you do not want people to know. And I know now exactly what I can say and get away with._

"Wow! So you actually know great deal about Fuwa-san's childhood then?" asked Megami. "I bet a lot of girls are very jealous of you right now."

"Fuwa-san has actually had fans since kindergarten. He even had a fan club although I was not a member." _Because the other girls wouldn't let me in… What can I say to turn the attention back to Sho? I know._ "Why don't you talk about your first concert ever, Fuwa-san? Back in third grade he got to give his first concert to our school. The girls absolutely loved it, especially the ones in his unofficial fan club. I understand the number of members tripled after the concert."

"Ah!" _Fine, if you want me to talk about myself I will, for now anyway. I will make you pay for your comments backstage…_ "Yes, I've always loved music and I was so happy and proud to have convinced the school to allow me to give a concert there. I gave two every year I was a student there. Once I started middle school I managed to give concerts all over the district. Once I started High School I moved here to Tokyo to join an agency and made my official debut and release my first album. Hopefully this second one will be enjoyed by my fans as much as my first one, maybe even more so."

"I have to admit to being curious now though, to know what your first songs were like. Did you write them too, like you do your albums?" Megami asked.

"I've always written my own songs. Though the ones I wrote back in elementary school aren't ones that I feel would be enjoyed as much today. They really aren't up to my standards now. Although I do still think fondly of them."

"Perhaps you can sing one of them later?" Megami asked really curious.

"Yes Fuwa-san," Kyoko chipped in, "maybe you could sing Always There. It was my favorite song of everything he's written actually." _Because it was the only song he wrote me, back before he betrayed me._ "He wrote it back in fifth grade."

"I'd certainly like to hear it. Perhaps you could sing it next instead of Asatte. We can make time, I think, for you to sing three songs instead of just two. We can decide on it after this next commercial break!"

**Intermission 2**

"Okay! That's our cue to break. We gotta be back in about 10 minutes to begin shooting the next part," Megami said. She was pretty experienced with how long her shows breaks would be. "You will sing this song, right, Fuwa-san? You can already hear the girls talking about it in the stands. They want to know what your music used to sound like, before your official debut. They'll be really disappointed if you don't sing it." Megami continued as she escorted them back to Sho's dressing room. The screams of Sho's fans echoed behind them as they went backstage.

_I guess I don't really have a choice about this._ "Yes. I'll sing Always There when we come back from intermission." _Kyoko… She's changed so much. She never would have asked me to sing this. Although, I did use to end every concert with this song until we moved to Toyko. I wrote it after that last time she saw her mother when we were in fifth grade. She was so close to crying that time, I remembered back then how much I couldn't stand her crying. I suppose it was her mom's absence that made me forget, there was nothing to drive her to the point she'd almost cry and remind me._

Megami continued on to her dressing room and Sho grabbed Kyoko's arm and dragged her into his dressing room where Shoko was waiting for them. Kyoko jerked her arm away from Sho. "What are you doing?" Kyoko whispered in a dark tone.

"That's what I should be asking you! What were you thinking telling them we were childhood friends?" Sho asked angrily.

"Oh! And what should I have told them instead Sho? I certainly can't think of anything and it's still the truth after all. We were childhood friends. I did go to all your concerts, admittedly I went to all of them in Tokyo too until that day. No way could I tell them I moved here with you. That would have ruined both our careers. I do know how much you've improved, in music at least; I don't see improvement anywhere else with you. And I know what you're like when you're writing music, I know more about you than anyone else. I know things about you that no one else knows, not even your parents. So you'll behave for the rest of the show or else I start telling tales." With that last warning Kyoko moved quickly out of the room and down a couple of hallways 'til she reached the ladies' room, which she entered. Entering a stall Kyoko let loose with her grudge Kyoko's which swarmed the room and causing several girls to decide they could hold it until they could go somewhere else.

Back in Sho's dressing room Shoko was looking on in surprise. Sometimes she forgot how out of control Kyoko could get, somehow, no matter how many times she saw it. She was still surprised with how well Kyoko could get under Sho's skin too. "Sho, are you alright?" Shoko asked.

Sho looked up. "I'm fine," he answered in a normal voice. Shoko still didn't know him well enough to recognize the anger under his voice. "Kyoko isn't really a threat. I know just as much about her that she doesn't want known as she knows about me. We are at a stalemate, I think." _That's right, I know all sorts of things about her. Like her belief in fairies. No one would take her seriously if they knew about that. Still… She did help me overcome my 'writers block' after that problem with Vie Ghoul, with her brutal honesty. I don't really have a problem singing Always There. I used to love that song, it's why I closed every concert with it. I'd imagined it would be my first single. I suppose I forgot about that once I had a contract with an agency. I wonder if Kyoko has even heard Asatte yet. I did sort of write it for her, just like I wrote Always There for her. Although this was more a thank you than something to comfort her. My second single after Vie Ghoul stole that song from me. And she's so oblivious still. It's obvious, to me at least, that Ren Tsuruga is in love with her and she's got no idea. Well he can't have her, she's still mine. As long as she wants to beat me as a celebrity she's mine. It's not until she can give that up that she'll move on. I know her, she won't let anyone into her heart that she thinks will hurt her._ At these thoughts Sho started to chuckle. I've totally got him beat when it comes to Kyoko.

Shoko looked on in confusion as Sho laughter trailed off. _We'll just have to see how things go. Kyoko won't say anything that could damage either of our careers, she wants our battle to be fair. So… how would she react if I mention certain things. She certainly dealt with me almost calling her "Kyoko" instead of "Kyoko-san" well enough._ There was no way Sho was going to admit, even to himself, that Kyoko's response about revealing their childhood friendship was the only way to go without damaging their reputations.

The rest of their break was kept in silence as both Sho and Kyoko thought about the past. Kyoko made it back to Sho's dressing room before the end of break and the entire group walked back on stage together. Kyoko taking her seat on the couch as Sho asked for a stool and borrowed the guitar off one of his backup band. "This is my song Always There which I wrote several years ago, but it is still dear to my heart."

**Always There by Sho Fuwa**

We're always side by side  
When you're sad, I'm sad  
When I'm sad you're sad  
We're always there in support

When I fall down  
You're always there  
With a helping hand  
When I need a friend

You only expect me to be me  
Always there for free  
You always know what to say  
That life isn't bad

In the end you're all that matters  
What we have is very rare  
I can miss you even when I'm beside you  
I try to always be my best

I've hurt you so many times  
But no one is perfect  
You were always there  
Trying to be flawless

You will never be alone  
Because I'll always be there  
You know all of my faults  
Because you're always there

Never doubt how you feel  
Because I'll always be there  
Never doubt how I feel  
Because you're always there

**Part 3**

"Because you're always there…" Sho allowed the last note to fade away as he played on his guitar. The girls in audience sighed longingly as Sho stood up from the stool he had been sitting on playing his guitar and moved to resume his seat on the couch near Megami.

"That was incredible!" Megami exclaimed. "I've never heard you sing a slow ballad before. Most of your music has such a rhythm to it that I've never imagined you singing something this sweet. I think I speak for all the women here that we'd like to get this song on an album. Did you really write this in fifth grade?"

"Yes I did. It was something I wrote for Kyoko-san actually." You requested I sing this, now you have to pay the consequences. My fans won't like that I wrote this for you.

"Really? Kyoko-san?"

"Heh. I was going through a very unhappy period in my life. Fuwa-san and his parents were my rock. Fuwa-san has never been able to comfort me the way friends normally do, but he found a way to cheer me up with music. He's actually written hundreds of songs, although he usually only performs his newest ones, but this one was always special to me since it was one written to make me feel better." _I think some of the girls are loosening up a bit, but those hate waves are still very strong, what else can I say to help. Ah!_ "I think a lot of it comes from the fact that I've always been a part of his life and in part a part of his family. I think Fuwa-san kind of thinks of me like a sister. Don't you, Fuwa-san?" _Let's see you talk your way out of this. You can't admit to thinking of me as some sort of servant and you don't have any romantic feelings either, you've made that very clear._

_That's a new twist… You want to play, then I'll play._ "Kyoko-san and I were constant companions as children. She always knows exactly what to say to make me feel better. Although, I suppose, my parents were hoping for more between us." _Let's see what you make from that Kyoko._

_He didn't confirm or deny it, that jerk. And now he's playing the parents wanted us to get married card. Fine, I know exactly what to say to that._ "Yes they did. I feel so silly about that really. I didn't even realize they had wanted us to marry until after you had made it very clear that you didn't like me that way. Thank goodness that you realized that and made a very clear statement about it. We would have been miserable since we aren't in love." _It's not like I can say that I didn't realize they had wanted that until weeks after overhearing Sho tell Shoko that he thought of me as a servant and that his parents wanted him to marry someone boring… Me. Ohhh… The hate waves are actually decreasing. His fans actually buy the whole 'he thinks of me as a sister' thing. That could come in useful if he ever shows up where I'm working again like he did when we were shooting Dark Moon. Though I suppose I was lucky that either he or Tsuruga-senpai showed up whenever I was in trouble with Reino._

"That's true enough," agreed Sho. _I got to loosen up a bit, Kyoko is so good at making me act like a kid. I could always act like myself around Kyoko because nothing I did changed how she thought of me until that day she heard Shoko and me talking. I think our sparring is bringing out my inner child… I really should work on that. No matter how I feel about Kyoko I can't risk annoying my fans._ "Kyoko had recently had a disagreement with her mother and I wrote this song to cheer her up. Since we spent so much time together as children we always knew what to say to make each other feel better."

_He's changing tactics… What is Sho up to?_ "Sho never comforted me as a child really, the only time is when he wrote that song. I think he felt more comfortable doing it with music than any other way. He never hugged me or anything like that to make me feel better." _Ohhh. That was a good line to say. There are only a couple of girls in the audience still angry at me._

"I never really knew how to. I was always uncomfortable trying to comfort Kyoko, but I really felt that this song was what she needed."

"He was right. I always feel better after hearing him sing it." _Even now… I shouldn't have mentioned this song at all and now Sho is acting weird. Don't tell me this song actually means anything to him still… I didn't think he ever really cared the way the lyrics go. He was just trying to get me to stop almost crying in front of him. I never could use Corn in front of him. Because that precious memory wasn't something I was willing to share with anyone, not even him._ "It's kind of silly I guess, that something he wrote when we were so young could make me feel so good."

_I wonder if she means that. I think she probably doesn't feel comforted by it now, or she does and it annoys her that it does._ "I'm flattered. It meant so much to me at the time that I was able to comfort my best friend. Although we've drifted apart I still remember our childhood fondly." _I remember how upset she was then. Even though it had been so long since she'd seen her mother in the flesh certain things would still make her so sad, although that was the first time I'd seen her come close to crying since we were seven. Even when her mother wasn't there she's like a nasty shadow blocking Kyoko's potential._ "Kyoko was always my biggest fan as a child and she always encouraged me to keep going. In fact I recently ran into her while she was filming on location for Dark Moon and she helped me overcome my writers block so I could write Asatte."

"I did?" Kyoko asked confused.

"Yeah. Kyoko has always been able to fix problems without realizing she's doing it."

"Well that's certainly amazing. I'd like to here more about that after this commercial break," interjected Megami.

**Intermission 3**

As soon as the door to the dressing room behind Kyoko, Sho and Shoko, Kyoko erupted, "What are you up to Sho!?"

"What do you mean? I'm not up to anything," Sho replied.

"Of course you're up to something. You are acting out of character! You're being nice and you started to help me stop your fans from hating me."

"This isn't all about you, you know. This can affect me in a bad way too. And maybe I don't want my fans to hate you. I just wanted to see how you're respond to the things I was saying."

"That could have gone very wrong! Leave me alone Sho! Let Megami ask you her questions and let me just sit there and maybe promote Dark Moon." Kyoko turned away to leave the room when Sho grabbed her arm and jerking her back towards him forcing her to turn around and face him again.

"Is it so hard to believe that I could honestly care about you?"

"Yes!" Kyoko answered immediately. "Now let me go."

"You really think our childhood friendship wasn't important to me. You were always there for me Kyoko. You were a constant as far as I can remember. You were there to encourage me and support me."

"That's because I let you be my whole life when I was a child. I've grown up Sho. And I found out that I don't need you, or even want you anymore. You aren't my world anymore Sho. You know, when I was getting into my character as Mio I thought about her life and in a lot of ways she and I were really similar. The reason I'm not like her, broken and cold inside, is because I had you. But I didn't really have you, did I? In the end you're just like my mother. No matter how hard I tried you didn't love me, you didn't even care about me. I was just convenient."

"If I didn't care about you then why did I write Always There for you?"

"I don't believe for a moment that you did it because you cared about me. I think you did it because you can't stand the thought of my crying. If you cared about me you should have said so back when I would have believed you, it's too late now! So let me go!" At this Kyoko tried to jerk her arm away from Sho's grasp again.

Sho released her arm in surprise; he hadn't realized he was still holding on to it.

"Sorry…"

Kyoko looked to the side for a moment as if she was lost in thoughts. Turning back she sighed softly. "Move on Sho, I'm not the little girl who idolized you anymore. I don't think you're Prince Charming to my Cinderella. It's past midnight and the spell over me is broken and I didn't forget my glass slipper. Just act civil towards me in the last segment of the show and keep the attention on you. You're really good at that after all." With that last parting comment Kyoko left the room to find somewhere else, out of the way, to wait out the rest of the break.

**Part 4**

Clapping and cheering followed Sho as he made his way back to the couch. He'd just finished performing Asatte and was still in a bit of shock after what Kyoko had said to him during the break.

Megami spoke up as Sho took his seat, "That was amazing Fuwa-san! It sounded so different live too. I can remember thinking how vibrant and alive it was when I listened to it before. This seemed so… sad instead of joyful and hopeful which is how I always thought about it before."

"Asatte was, is, all about second chances to me. About hope for the future. A brighter future where dreams come true." Sho paused for a moment as if unsure about where to go from here. "But, in a way, it's about letting go of yesterday to embrace tomorrow. It's not easy because sometimes you don't want to let yesterday go." Sho tilted his head down and glanced over at Kyoko who was just watching him without any real expression on her face. "I wish… I wish I could hold yesterday tight and never let it go. I know I can't though," Sho continued looking up at Megami and smiled. "I suppose, if I get lucky, someday I can have a new tomorrow while holding yesterday close to my heart."

"That's so sweet," Megami said with a smile. Most of the audience were developing tears in their eyes. It was just so moving the way he said that.

_He's such a ham… Always saying things that make girls like him. He never said anything like that to me in all the time I've known him. And I've known him for over 10 years now._

_Kyoko's got no clue I'm talking about her… She's so dense sometimes. I guess that works in my favor because I know Ren Tsuruga is in love with her and she won't understand that. I suppose I should move on from these sad topics. I don't want the audience crying after all._

"Asatte was really a turning point for me. It's about looking forward to what the future brings. I think that's what most people hear when they listen to it. I throw myself into my music and let it take me where it will. So far I've loved every place it's taken me to."

Megami giggled, "Well I for one can't wait to see where it takes you next. You're up for so many awards right now too. Though winning some of these your first time up for nominations would show your potential staying power in the music world."

"Thank you," Sho smiled widely. "It's always great to hear from my fans and know that they're cheering me on. I hope to succeed in this industry so that I can always share my music with them." Sho turned to face the audience. "You're support means a great deal to me."

There were a lot of squeals in the audience after that. A couple of girls even fainted. Sho could have that effect on normal girls. Girls like Kyoko were immune to it.

"OH! That's right! Kyoko-san, you said Fuwa-san's always had a fan club?"

"Yes. Fuwa-san has had a fan club since elementary school. I understand it was the largest club in middle school too. Almost all the girls were members of it as well as an official school club." _I hope this isn't going to be a trend. I don't want to be asked about Sho all the time. I want to be asked questions about my work, without dragging in my unhappy past._

"But not you? I believe you said earlier that you weren't a member. It sounds like you were his biggest fan before his debut though."

_I really don't want to go into this…_ "The other girls wouldn't let me in. They were quite jealous of the amount of time I got to spend with Fuwa-san. His parents often watched over me while I was growing up."

"That would explain the comment about them wanting you two to get married. Your classmates sound kind of mean, not letting you into their club!"

"Yes, some of them were very mean. You know that prank where you turn a desk around to face the wrong way?"

Megami giggled. "I remember that one. It's always something I think was so silly when I look back on it. That happened to me once when I was in middle school. Did they do that to you?"

"They took my whole desk and hid it. Some of his fans were very extreme. … You know, thinking about it, I wonder why none of the girls tried to befriend me just to have an excuse to spend time with Fuwa-san."

"They stole your desk? That's so mean!" Even the die-heart fans of Sho were feeling sorry for Kyoko at this point. "Fuwa-san, didn't you ask them to stop being mean to Kyoko-san?"

"OH! Don't blame him. I hid it from him. I didn't want him to worry about me."

"I would have done something if I had known at the time," Sho interjected with a soft frown. "I didn't find out about it until we were working on filming the Prisoner PV. Kyoko-san was really good at hiding it from me. I had no idea that she wasn't happy at school. I would have done something if I had known."

_I'm not letting this conversation continue, I don't want to talk about this…_ "I didn't want anything to distract him from his music. It's always been the most important thing to him." _More important than me, than his parents, than anything or anyone else… Next time I'm making sure he's not going to be on a show I'm doing. This was a whole different take on Yappa Kimagure Rock. I wonder if I could get Shoko to tell me his schedule every week so I know where to not be…_

_She can't tell that I regret that now. She was also there, she was my rock, the person who supported me the most. I miss that. I want that back._

"He does make some incredible music. Keep up the good work!" Megami said cheerfully right on time. "This is it for tonight's show. Please tune in next week."

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this back in 2008 (it was 8 chapters) and it was one of my first fanfics ever. I'm busy posting a lot of my work here.
> 
> I made up the titles to Sho's singles.  
> Doki Doki is the sound effect for a racing heart.  
> Asatte means the day after tomorrow, it sounds much cooler in Japanese.  
> I called the movie Today's Target because that's what Kyoko called her mission as Ruriko Matsunai's assistant.  
> I totally made up the pre-Tokyo history…  
> I wasn't planning to write the song, but there were several comments saying how they looked forward to it… I only planned on writing the last line. I'm not a poet, so I hope you liked it anyway. It might have been better to let you all imagine it was really good instead of this… I was actually thinking of the song Still Here by Natasha Bedingfield which is great.  
> It was hard ending this story because I felt I couldn't come up with a better line than the Cinderella one.


End file.
